Online shopping has been a huge part of our lives, more so in recent years as people have increasingly become better drawn to the convenience of being able to do things without leaving the comforts of their homes. This seemingly ceaseless surge in ecommerce has online sellers on the constant lookout for ways to remain strong players in the vast and very competitive field of online shopping.
In a world that never seems to run out of fresh ideas, how can your business stay relevant? A short, honest answer would be that aside from ensuring your product’s quality, you also have to make a great first impression with your online presence and then expand on that with your product packaging.
Ideally, when packaging your product, you should make sure you’re able to showcase your purpose and vision. Kicking things off with the good old “great first impression” can result in positive impacts on your brand.
So, what is ecommerce packaging exactly, and how do you make sure you’re doing it right?
Ecommerce packaging is one of the most important bits of a brand’s identity. Your product packaging is the first tangible object that your customers have of you so you want it to be impactful. It absolutely can’t be something you’ll do as an afterthought; you should set a fair amount of time to planning your e-commerce packaging.
There are factors to consider when coming up with your product packaging. Creating a checklist of these factors can help you know you’re going for the packaging that best fits your brand, your product, and your audience.
Here are the things you should consider when choosing the right ecommerce packaging:
- How well it’ll fare in transit – You’ll want your product to get to its destination in pristine condition so depending on the type of goods you’re selling, make sure you’re putting in extra necessities to keep it secure like bubble wrapping, foam, tapes, etc.
- Its size and flexibility relative to your products – If you’re selling products that come in different sizes, go for materials that will be easy to manipulate according to your products’ shapes and sizes.
- Your target audience – This is pretty self-explanatory. Keep your audience’s experience in mind because you’ll want to make a lasting favorable impression that’ll make them keep returning as happy customers. As they talk to other people about their happy experience with you, they’ll most likely want to share pictures. Make your package photogenic! A great product packaging will invite more and more sales and revenue for your business.
- Whether or not it reflects your brand’s identity – As the first physical contact that your customer has with your brand, your packaging will definitely linger in your customer’s mind. With your brand name consistently being front and center in your packaging, customers will easily recognize and connect with your brand.
In this article, we’re taking a look into some of the most effective ecommerce packaging examples and types. Once you’re done reading through the whole thing, feel free to bookmark this page so you can keep coming back to it for as long as you need to!
Types of Ecommerce Packaging
There are quite a number of packaging types to choose from. Most of the time, your choice should depend on the type of product you’re selling, rather than the aesthetic quality. This is not to say you have to drop all plans of choosing the prettiest looking e-commerce packaging design there is, but you have to prioritize practicality over everything else.
Here are the most common types of ecommerce packaging and what kind of products they’re mostly good for.
1. Corrugated boxes
Corrugated boxes are made of three layers of cardboard: an inner lining, a fluted middle, and an outer lining. They’re different from normal cardboard boxes precisely because of their being multi-layered making them more durable. They are also the most popular example of sustainable ecommerce packaging.
Corrugated boxes can hold virtually any product like clothing, cosmetics, and other dry goods.
2. Plastic boxes
Plastic boxes are a popular choice among many online sellers because they’re durable, recyclable, and most importantly, they can brandish the product before a customer can even open the package.
Plastic boxes are especially great for products that don’t need the element of surprise to be appreciated. Food products like designer cupcakes and custom desserts, for example, are just the perfect kind to put in plastic boxes to tug at the customer’s cravings even at first sight of just the packaging!
3. Paperboard boxes
Paperboard is a lightweight yet durable paper-based material. It’s easy to cut and fold to create custom ecommerce packaging. Just like corrugated boxes, paperboard boxes are great for dry products like shoes or cereal.
There are four paperboard box grades, namely, Solid Bleached Sulfate (SBS), Uncoated Recycled Paperboard (URB), Coated Recycled Paperboard (CRB), and, probably the most popular among the four, Coated Unbleached Kraft Paperboard (CUK), or simply referred to as Kraft paper. It’s the kind of packaging that’s usually seen used by online sellers of arts, crafts, and several other non-liquid products.
4. Bags/Envelopes
Bags and envelopes are great for products that are light but not fragile, like clothing. These mailers are easy to store and self-sealing so as an online seller who would probably have lots of stocks and very little time, bags and envelopes are a great choice for ecommerce packaging.
5. Custom Ecommerce Packaging
This type of product packaging is probably the most fun to do because you get to be most creative with it. As long as you’re sure you meet the standards of a high quality packaging, you can practically do anything with it!
You can start with some sturdy paper, handmade fillers, tape, and twine and you’re all set!
More Ways to Boost Ecommerce Revenue
While we all can agree that great ecommerce packaging is definitely something you should invest time and effort in, you must not forget that there are other important marketing elements that can up your ecommerce game.
Just like a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, leaving even a single component in your business model neglected can cause the brand you’ve undoubtedly worked so hard building up to fall.
Nobody wants that—we certainly don't want you to go through something remotely similar. Which is why we’re treating you to a few extra tips to ensure you’re able to run a foolproof business!
Online consumers like it when things are made even more convenient when they’re shopping. Strikingly has many tips to help online sellers, like which features to put on their website or how to price a product. Here are some of the best ones yet:
1. Vertical Pricing Section
Image taken from Strikingly product
People like it when items are laid out for easier viewing. This feature lets all users easily showcase their products in a format that’s both straightforward and sophisticated.
Did we mention it’s a free feature?
2. Product Filter Sidebar
When you have lots of products, it can be a hassle for your customers to go through your whole catalog manually. With Strikingly’s filter feature, customers can look to the side of your website and locate the product they’re looking for in no time.
You can set up product filters in the Categories page in the website builder’s store.
3. Listing Pre-Order Products
Image taken from Strikingly product
A proven marketing approach that drives sales is an impactful hyping of certain products. Strikingly allows you to set individual products for pre-order, causing a strategized anticipation for your products along the way.
4. Multiple Shipping Options
Things aren’t always the same for everyone. A lot of customers drop their purchases when they’re so close to completing them due to a lack of options that’ll work for them.
Strikingly helps make sure that never happens by letting users offer multiple shipping options on their website! Isn’t that great?
5. Free Shipping Policy
Everybody loves free things! For online consumers, the prospect of being able to save some extra bucks on top of the convenience of online shopping is enough to make the purchase a happy and unforgettable experience. When they talk to others about their transaction with you, one of the first things they’ll cheerfully share is how they got free shipping.
You can set the shipping fee to be waived for orders over a certain amount with your Strikingly website, and boost sales as a result.
6. Set Sale Prices
Image taken from Strikingly product
Sale events are yet another thing that everyone loves. By showing sale prices next to original rates in your Strikingly website, you show your customers the great value that’s in for them!
What this means for you is a possible increase in sales as people are more inclined to buying things that’ll save them money or give them their money’s worth, or both.
7. Go Big by Going Global
Since your website has a global reach, it’ll be a shame if customers from certain parts of the world couldn’t make a purchase due to their currency not being supported.
With Strikingly, you’ll never have to worry about missing out on sales because you can sell in many currencies when you connect your Simple Store to your Stripe account.
8. Accept Payments via Multiple Payment Channels
With a Strikingly website, there’s less chances for wasted leads because you can accept payments via leading payment channels such as Apple Pay and Google Pay, Alipay, and WeChat Pay.
All you need is to connect your store to your Stripe account, activate the payment methods, and you’re good to go!
9. Grow Your Audience with Newsletters
Image taken from Strikingly product
Newsletters are a great way to engage with your many customers at once. You can send your newsletters to your subscribers or to an existing email list that you can upload to your Strikingly account.
Who knew digital marketing could be made even easier?
10. Earn Your Customers’ Loyalty with Live Chat
Image taken from Strikingly product
Customers love being listened to. In virtually all businesses, customers will want to get instant replies to urgent queries.
With Live Chat activated on your Strikingly website, your customers stay engaged and you get leads that will eventually turn into sales!
These are only some of the many great Strikingly features that can help you in your ecommerce ventures. Read about more of them here, and you might just find the best tool to help you improve your brand!
